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A man who started drinking at one Dorchester Avenue bar, continued across the street, then returned to the first wound up getting both hauled before the Boston Licensing Board today for serving an intoxicated patron.

The lawyer for one of the bars, the Aces, 551 Dorchester Ave., tried to sidestep the police citation by citing Andrew Square's problem with drug addicts and methadone clinics. He argued his client is operating under tremendous strains because of that - the druggies keep trying to get in - but acting board Chairman Milton Wright, a retired judge, cut him off as he was reading from a Herald article about the scourge of drugs in Andrew Square.

According to police, the man, a regular at both the Sports Connection, 560 Dorchester Ave. and the Aces across the street, started the night at the Sports Connection. After a few drinks, he walked across the street to the Aces, where detectives on a routine inspection found him "play wrestling" with another patron. In fact, Det. Sgt. William Mulvey said, one of the two had the other in a headlock - but both were laughing.

And when the bartender, under the direction of the detectives, told them to knock it off, both reached for their freshly msde margaritas. The man in question stood, in a manner of speaking, Mulvey said, adding he quickly formed the opinon the man was drunk, because he was swaying back and forth and was "barely able to communicate," what with heavily slurred speech and all. The two battlers and a third man were then ordered out of the bar - after which Mulvey wrote the bar a citation for serving an intoxicated patron.

Mulvey said he and his partner, Det. William Gallagher, then went outside - and watched the 60something man walk into the Sports Connection, where he sat at the bar with a woman - who turned out to be his girlfriend - and proceded to down a Coors Lite.

A Sports Connection manager said the man was a "very regular customer," that at 60 or so he was no threat to anybody and that his girlfriend was going to walk him home.

"Unfortunately, none of these reasons is a good reason to serve someone who is intoxicated," board member Suzanne Ianella told him.

The board decides Thursday what action, if any, to take against the two bars.